Page 44 - Marketing Management

DEFINING MARKETING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY | CHAPTER 1 21

All company communications also must be integrated. Using an integrated communication
strategy means choosing communication options that reinforce and complement each other. A
marketer might selectively employ television, radio, and print advertising, public relations and
events, and PR and Web site communications so each contributes on its own as well as improv-
ing the effectiveness of the others. Each must also deliver a consistent brand message at every
contact.
When BMW launched the modernized MINI Cooper in 2002, it employed an integrated mar-
keting strategy in the United States that included a broad mix of media: billboards, posters,
Internet, print, PR, product placement, and grassroots campaigns. Many were linked to a cleverly
designed Web site with product and dealer information. The car was placed atop Ford Excursion
SUVs at 21 auto shows across the United States, was used as seats in a sports stadium, and appeared
in Playboy magazine as a centerfold. The imaginative integrated campaign built a six-month wait-
ing list for the MINI Cooper.
The company must also develop an integrated channel strategy. It should assess each channel
option for its direct effect on product sales and brand equity, as well as its indirect effect through
interactions with other channel options. Marketers must weigh the trade-off between having too
many channels (leading to conflict among channel members and/or a lack of support) and too few
(resulting in market opportunities being overlooked).
Online marketing activities are increasingly prominent in building brands and sales. Created for
$300,000 and no additional promotional expense, the Carnival Connections site made it easy for
cruise fans to compare notes on destinations and onboard entertainment from casinos to conga
lines. In a few short months, 2,000 of the site’s 13,000 registered users planned trips aboard
Carnival’s 22 ships, generating an estimated $1.6 million in revenue for the company. 47

Internal Marketing
Internal marketing, an element of holistic marketing, is the task of hiring, training, and motivat-
ing able employees who want to serve customers well. It ensures that everyone in the organization
embraces appropriate marketing principles, especially senior management. Smart marketers recog-
nize that marketing activities within the company can be as important—or even more important—
than those directed outside the company. It makes no sense to promise excellent service before the
company’s staff is ready to provide it.

Snowshoe Mountain Snowshoe Mountain in Snowshoe, West
Virginia, embarked on a marketing program to better brand the ski resort with a promise
of an “authentic, rustic and engaging wilderness experience.” In launching a branding
initiative to define their goals and articulate what they wanted the Snowshoe Mountain

To improve its guests’ experiences,
Snowshoe Mountain ski resort
engages in a series of internal
marketing activities to build its
brand promise with employees.